ARCHIVED - Public Service Commission of Canada

How is your organization planning to meet the objectives of the Policy on Green Procurement?

The existing PSC sustainable development policy and related guidelines developed in 2007 remains in effect. In addition to providing recommendations to employees on ways to go "green" within their office environment, the policy identified corporate "greening" initiatives to take effect immediately upon release of the new policy. For the PSC, these initiatives include the recommended use of refillable/remanufactured cartridges for all printers and photocopiers, the return of used cartridges for recycling, the purchase and use of recycled paper products as well as the reduction of paper use through the setting of printer defaults to duplexing (double-sided).

Even though the PSC is not a Category 1 Department and does not set Sustainable Development Strategy targets, it continues to address Green Procurement through its internal investment planning processes.
Notable PSC initiatives:

• Put in place a five-year Hardware Evergreen Plan;
• Make use of Request for Volume Discount for IT equipment with Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC);
• Dispose of all PSC IT equipment no longer in use through the “Computers for Schools” Program or the PWGSC "E-Waste" Program;
• Identify an ADM-level environment champion; and
• Identify a green procurement representative.

Has your organization established green procurement targets?

In light of the PSC's buying patterns, the PSC did not see the need to establish its own specific green procurement targets, since it relies mainly on already-established PWGSC Standing Offer and Supply Arrangements for the acquisition of the majority of its goods.

Describe the green procurement targets that have been set by your organization and indicate the associated benefits anticipated.

As previously mentioned, the PSC has not established specific targets but is achieving green procurement commitments through a combination of initiatives, including government-wide commodity management initiatives and the procurement services of PWGSC.

The PSC has implemented several initiatives to address environmental issues associated with the procurement of goods and services:

• All of the PSC's solicitation documents include the following clause regarding green procurement and services:
  • "5.13   Green Procurement and Services: The contractor should make every effort to ensure that all documents prepared or delivered are printed double-sided on Ecology certified recycled paper or on paper with equivalent post-consumer recycled content to the full extent to which it is procurable";
• The PSC only provides electronic references of its General Conditions, Supplementary Conditions and Terms of Payment in all of its solicitation documents;
• In the near future, the PSC will only provide electronic references of its General Conditions for contractual agreements. This will reduce the document size from approximately 20 pages to approximately 8 pages;
• All of the PSC's contractual documents are printed double-sided;
• Whenever possible, the PSC posts its solicitation documents on-line (MERX);
• Even though the PSC has significantly reduced the number of printers in use and continues to do so, it has initiated a review of its photocopier fleet with intent to optimize it with regards to usage and to identify potential redundancies;
• The PSC will participate in the Green Procurement Forum; and
• The PSC purchases most of its goods using standing offers established by PWGSC that relate to green products/services.

As co-tenant with Finance Canada and the TBS, the PSC has been working with them to try to achieve a number of greening of operations commitments such as decrease in greenhouse emissions, improvement of waste management programs, improvement in green procurement and increase in green stewardship.

The PSC continues to be an active participant in the Green Citizenship Network. With excellent co-operation and good communication with the L'Esplanade Laurier government tenants, we have managed to organize various activities within the L'Esplanade Laurier complex related to such worthwhile causes as Earth Day, Waste Reduction Week and Environment Week.

Other notable initiatives include the following:

• Internal space reconfiguration projects;
• Limited investments in furniture and furniture systems;
• Based on operational priorities approved by senior management, acquired and installed replacement green office furniture / furniture systems; and
• Invested in over 280 new Teknion workstations that can be re-used, reconfigured or relocated at any time and at minimal cost, especially in light of the planned move of the PSC Headquarters from L'Esplanade Laurier to a new building in Gatineau within the next 3-4 years. The procurement for the Teknion workstations was performed through PWGSC's office furniture Standing Offer.

It should also be noted that the PSC continues to work with PWGSC in its efforts to implement sustainable development initiatives and improve building efficiency, e.g. the removal of polychlorinated biphenyls from the electrical transformers located within L'Esplanade Laurier.